The statements in this section provide background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. This section also provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
It is generally known to provide a dual outlet gas valve for controlling the supply of gas to a pair of burners. One such exemplary valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,887, which is owned in part by the parent company of the assignee of the present disclosure and is incorporated by reference herein. The present disclosure provides a dual outlet gas valve that allows different rates of gas flow therethrough so that relatively high and relatively low flames may be selectively applied to a pair of burners in several alternative modes of operation.
The present disclosure provides a dual outlet gas valve assembly including a valve body having a bore for receiving a valve plug member. The valve body includes a main cavity in communication with an inlet passage and a pair of outlet passages. A primary outlet port may be provided in communication with the main cavity, and a secondary outlet port may be provided in communication with each of the pair of outlet passages. A plug member is rotatably received in the main cavity and has a wall defining a bore extending axially from a first end of the plug member. The wall has a thickness extending radially from an interior surface to an exterior surface. The plug member may include a dual flow aperture extending radially from the bore through the wall and may be operable for selectively providing either high flow output through the primary outlet port or low flow output through the secondary outlet port. The plug member may include a slot that extends partially inward from the exterior surface of the wall. The slot may be axially aligned to provide selective fluid communication between the inlet and one of the pair of outlet passages for providing high flow output to the secondary outlet port.
In various aspects, the plug member is rotatable to provide selective fluid communication between the inlet passage and at least one of the outlet passages via the dual flow aperture. With selective adjustment of the position of the valve plug member, the first and second outlets of the dual outlet fluid valve can individually be provided with a low flow, high flow, or a closed operating state.
In certain aspects, when the valve is in a closed or locked position, at least one of outlet ports is in communication with the plug member bore such that the fluid valve is not charged with fuel.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.